“Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance.” Francis of Assisi

Motivation Mondays: Labor & Charity collage

In recognition of the role of charity in alleviating humanitarian crises and human ‎suffering within and among nations, as well as of the efforts of charitable organizations ‎and individuals, including the work of Mother Teresa, the General Assembly of the ‎United Nations in its resolution A/RES/67/105 designated the 5th of September, the ‎anniversary of the death of Mother Teresa, as the International Day of Charity.‎ UN Charity Day

What do you know about International Day of Charity? Did you know that today is both Labor Day and International Day of Charity. International Day of Charity was established in 2012 by the United Nations Organization as a way to sensitize people to the issues of poverty worldwide, and also as a way to recognize the works and deeds of Mother Teresa of Calcutta who served the poor throughout her lifetime and passed away on September 5, 1997. Mother Teresa was canonized as a Saint yesterday and so this is a special day to celebrate both her death and her recognition as a modern day Saint in our world. She will now be celebrated every year on September 5th as Saint Teresa of Calcutta MC. It makes perfect sense to me because when we labor and share the benefits of our work, we take an important step by offering help to those in need. Charity and Labor go hand in hand and are great qualities that we all want to have; to provide for our loved ones and to give back to our communities. On this auspicious day of recognizing the role both play in the lives of a community, a nation, and globally, we can recommit ourselves to help sustain each other through volunteering, working hard, and giving back. Each year, the UN has a theme/focus; for 2016, UN Sec General, Ban Ki-moon, has placed the focus on volunteering and giving. This is very important because of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development globally

Many of us grew up hearing the saying that charity begins at home … and it does. When we teach our children to be conscientious about helping others in need, and when we express gratitude for what we have, we are sharing a spirit of charity. On the community level, when we contribute to foundations and groups that help our schools and the poor in our community, we are torch bearers of charity. On the national and global level, when we support NGOs and other nonprofit organizations that provide services in many parts of the world; be it for education, health training, small business , even water and electricity, our philanthropy helps create opportunities for friendship, dialogue and global peace. Each time we make a donation or volunteer to help families in war-zones, we are activating that spirit of charity and goodwill that reverberates around the world and returns to us in beneficial ways. Give to charity, share your labor of love and spread the word.

“A garden requires patient labor and attention. Plants do not grow merely to satisfy ambitions or to fulfill good intentions. They thrive because someone expended effort on them.” Liberty Hyde Bailey

Motivation Mondays: Labor Day & International Charity Day

The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883.
Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. US Dept of Labor

What do you know about Labor Day ? Many years ago, the world of work was brutal and work related deaths were ubiquitous. There were no laws to guide workers or the movement from one dingy workplace to another. The hours were long, pay was little, and unscrupulous bosses created atrocious workplaces and conditions, while offering little or no recourse to workers wounded on the job. Because there were no labor laws to protect minors, a common practice was to use child labor for long, mind numbing work that was often unpaid. By the 19th century, workers started to agitate for change as conditions continued to deteriorate and lives were lost at the workplace. It was this backdrop that gave impetus to the growth of the labor movement that turned life around for middle and working class folks. It was the effort of men like Matthew Maguire and Peter J. McGuire who forced the hand of our government to put a stop to inhumane work practices. The death of some workers/protesters during the Pullman Strike, in 1894, led to increased pressure from workers and eventually led to Labor Day being declared a National Holiday with a unanimous vote by Congress; then sitting US President, Grover Cleveland, signed off on the new law and the movement was up and running.

Interestingly enough, years before the new law was signed into effect by Congress, workers organized rallies, meetings and parades to get the word out and build a union. The first Labor Day Parade was held in NYC in 1882 to honor and celebrate the efforts of all the hardworking men and women who put their lives on the line and labored daily to ensure their families had food to eat and a roof over their heads. When I think of the origins of the labor movement and Labor Day, it is a cause we should all honor because the motivation to work remains the same today. What motivates you to labor for a living? The answer is very clear for millions of people around the world, and yet, many have stood by and watched the erosion of the labor movement take place. It is not by accident that we have “The 40-hour work week, the minimum wage, family leave, health insurance, Social Security, Medicare, and retirement plans.” All have been fought for by those who believed that without proper compensation, people would be worked to death and workplace atrocities would not end. On this day, let’s stop and thank all who worked to provide for us and our communities.

The details for Motivation Mondays are below. Join in! The themes for August and September 2016 are:

“Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire, called conscience.” George Washington

Motivation Mondays: Labor & Charity collage

Charity is one of the best investments we can make in our common future. On this day of International Charity, I call on people everywhere to be part of our 15-year partnership for humanity, and to help make the Sustainable Development Goals a reality for all. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

How do Labor and Charity shape our lives? I’ve told this story before, but will share it again with a new component added to the story: The charity we extend to others comes back to us tenfold. My paternal grandmother raised my dad alone after her husband died suddenly of a heart attack. They were poor farmers, in a West African village, who saw the arrival of European missionaries up-end their lives at the turn of the 20th Century. When her hubby passed away, my Grandma sent her youngest son to the only school in a nearby village. It was a Missionary school that educated a handful of boys, sent by bold parents, in a fractious climate that didn’t encourage education as a way out of poverty. Many locals were against the missionaries who were determined to force people to abandon traditional practices and Ancestral worship for a new Christian order. With the Missionaries came laws on taxation and village leaders were also against the imposition of tax levies on communities that were barely eking out a living to support their families. So you can imagine that, in such a tense climate of imminent and eventual change, education was not available to all or even considered a road out of poverty. The missionary school was free and was offered to the community as a charitable effort to gain trust. Still, many turned away from it because they couldn’t imagine how an education would help grow their crops or raise their farm animals.

My Grandma, out of desperation to support her family, took a chance and sent her youngest son to the school. He was eager to learn and she was eager to find a path out of poverty. As she struggled, others in the village rallied to support and encourage her and became equally invested in seeing my Dad succeed. My dad stayed in school, holding onto the community’s dream of a better life. He received an education that led him down the path to entering the world of Accountancy, Banking and eventually Government. As his career path expanded, he took up the role of benefactor and helped educate many in our village. He never forgot the goodwill and charity that was extended to him as a little boy and repaid it tenfold. We often forget that the hand that feeds one, creates an opportunity for many more hands to feed others. When we act charitably towards others, we benefit as much as the receiver of our philanthropy.

Positive Motivation Tip: The labor of love and charity we extend to others comes back to us tenfold.

Motivation Mondays is open to anyone who wishes to share a motivational quote, photo, personal challenge or a post that encourages others to start the week on an upbeat note.Basic Instructions: Each week, I will have a motivation word to help us create a response. (See listed words for the months above/below)Email address: You may email or share your post as a comment and I will add it to the round-up of related posts. email it to: contact(@)mirthandmotivation(.)comCategory tag: – Share your post using Motivation MondaysTwitter hashtag: – Use this on Twitter #MotvnMDedicated Page: There is a dedicated page for Motivation Mondays. It has the same instructions and will include other helpful tools and a link to the round-upFacebook Page:MotivationOnMondays Join our page and add your post and/or any motivational piece you think will be helpful to others.Facebook Community: We have a Facebook community forum to compliment the page. It serves as another way to share uplifting posts and thoughts. Please join in and add your voice.

Badge: – I created a fun badge using PicMonkey’s free photo editing tools. You can create your own, use WordPress’ integrated tool on your blog or you are welcome to use mine. (see dedicated page)Tag: – Motivation MondaysHashtag: – #MotvnMRelated Posts